Apparatus for ladle additions

ABSTRACT

The ladle addition assembly includes a plurality of containers in stacked relationship and a metal disc interleaved with the containers. The metal disc is apertured as are the containers to accommodate a refractory lined rod. The metal disc, which is slit or notched in the area surrounding the aperture, engages the stopper rod to prevent downward movement of the containers on the stopper rod. A second metal disc can be employed adjacent the first disc to assist in maintaining the first disc in locking engagement with the stopper rod. A refractory block forms a shoulder on the refractory lined rod to prevent upward movement of the containers.

O United States Patent 1 [111 3,853,308

Rocher' 1 Dec. 10, 1974 APPARATUS FOR LADLE ADDITIONS PrimaryExaminer-Gerald A. Dost [75] Inventor George Rocher i Attorney, Agent,or Firm-Webb, Burden, Robinson & [73] Assignee: MetallurgicalExoproducts Webb Corporation, McKees Rocks, Pa. 22 Filed: Feb. 11, 1974[57] ABSTRACT The ladle addition assembly includes a plurality of [211App! containers in stacked relationship and a metal disc in- RelatedU.S. Application Data terleaved with the containers. The metal disc isaper- [63] Continuation-impart of Ser. No. 428,764, Dec. 27, tured asare the containers to accommodate a refrac- 1973, abandgned, tory linedrod. The metal disc, which is slit or notched in the area surroundingthe aperture, engages the stop- [52] U.S. Cl. 266/34 T p rod o prev nwnwar movement of the con- [5 1] Int. CL, C2lc 7/00 tainers on hestopper red- A second metal disc can be [58] Field of Search 75/53-58; ep y d jacent the first disc to assist in maintain- 266/34 A, 34 T ingthe first disc in locking engagement with the stopper rod. A refractoryblock forms a shoulder onthe [56] References Cited refractory lined rodto prevent upward movement of UNITED STATES PATENTS l-lurum 266/34 T 13Claims, 7 Drawing Figures APPARATUS FOR LADLE ADDITIONS CROSS REFERENCETO RELATED APPLICATION This application is a continuation-in-part of myprior copending application Ser. No. 428,764 on Apparatus for LadleAdditions, filed Dec. 27, 1973, and now abandoned.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION My invention relates to ladle addition apparatusand, more particularly, to an improvement in ladle addition apparatusfor retaining the'containers which accommodate the ladle addition agentson a refractory lined rod.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART In application Ser. No. 275,184, filed July26, 1972 and now 'U.S. Pat. No. 3,784,177, and Ser. No. 358,263, filedMay 7, 1973 and now US. Pat. No. 3,809,380, of which;I am co-inventor,there are disclosed various ladle addition assemblies for assuring thatthe ladle addition is made below the molten metal surface. Thesedisclosed ladle additionapparatus include containers positioned instacked relationship about a refractory lined rod positioned in a ladleof the type used inthe steel industry. These containers are positionedon an enlarged refractorymember positioned at the ,bottom of the rod andare held in place by wedges driven between the top container and .there- FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a second disc employed with the firstdisc; and

FIG. 7 isan enlarged section showing part of a two disc assembly.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS My ladle assembly, generallydesignated 10, is utilized in a refractory lined ladle 12 of the typecommonly used in the steel industry for receiving the molten metal fromthe steelmaking vessel or-furnace, FIG. 1. The ladle addition assembly10 includes a plurality of containers 14 in stacked relationship. Thecontainers 14 can be made of an alloying addition agent such as aluminumor it can be made from the parent metal, e.g., steel. Each container 14includes a body portion 16 having a central opening 20 therethrough andan arm 18 extending outwardly from the body portion 16. I

An outer sleeve 24 of cardboard or metal forms the outer periphery forthe containers and the arms 18 extend outwardly to the sleeve 24 toaccommodate a ladle addition agent 22. The containers 14 are retained instacked relationship by means of metal strapping 26 wrapped thereabout.This permits shipment of an assembled unit to the consumer so that theconsumer need only position the ladle assemblylO on the refractory linedrod as is described hereinafter.

fractory lined rod. The wedges are then covered with grout. I havenowfoundthat I can simplify the procedures followed by the users of suchladle addition apparatus and atthesame time provide additional means toassure that the containers do not float in the molten metal bath.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION direction. A second thin metal disc having aslightly larger central aperturecan be employed adjacent the first discto assist in preventingmovement in the first direction. An enlargedrefractory member positioned atop the-containers prevents movement inthe said opposite direction.

- BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE' DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a section through a partof a ladle showing I the ladle addition apparatus;

FIG. 2 isa'plan view of one form of metal disc; FIG. 3 .is a planview'of another form of metal disc;

FIG.' 4 is a section taken along section lines IV-IV of FIG. 3; r

disc;

FIG. 5 is part of a plan view of still another form of I strapping 26.

A metal disc 28, normally of low carbon steel, is interleaved betweentwo adjacent containers.14.-Normally. the metal disc 28 is interleavedbetween the upper two'containers 14 of the ladle assembly 10,-al-

though such positioning is not 'criticaland the disc 28 may even bepositioned adjacent the top container 14 provided it is retained insecurement therewith by the 'The metal disc 28 has a central aperture 30which is aligned with the openings 20 of the containers 14. Extendingradially outward from the aperture 30 is a plurality of elongatedopenings such as slots 34, FIG. 2, or

notches 36, FIG. 3. The slots 34 can actually be slits 48 formed by acutting surface in which metal is not even removed, FIG. 5. The aperture30 has a diameter slightly smaller than the diameter of the refractorylined rod 42 on which it is inserted. The slots 34, slits 48 or notches36 permit the metal disc 28 in the area of the aperture 30 to benddownwardly when the refractory lined rod 42 is inserted through theaperture 30. The metal disc can be made to work without such elongatedopenings but such a construction is not preferred.

The outer periphery of the .metaldisc 2a is bentdownwardly toform aalip32 which engages the body portion 16 of the containers 14 to assure theproper registry of aperture 30 with openings 20 in the containers 14,FIGS. 1 and 4. This same alignment can be obtained by utilizing aplurality of short metal pins 38 extending perpendicular to themetaldisc 28 and these pins 38 engage the body portion 16 of thecontainers 14 to assure the proper alignment of the respective apertureand openings in the same manner as lip 40, FIG. 2

prises a metal rod 42 protected from the molten metal by a plurality ofsleeves 44 which are of a refractory material and which are positionedthereabout. An enlarged refractory sleeve46 is positioned along the rod42 to prevent the ladle assembly from floating upward The rod used tosupport the ladle assembly 10 com-- along the refractory lined rod. Therefractory lined rod 42 is normally suspended in the ladle by agooseneck arrangement, not shown. The actual stopper rod can also beemployed to support the ladle assembly.

The operation of my ladle assembly is as follows. The assembly 10 isreceived by the consumer in assembled condition. The consumer merelyinserts the refractory lined rod 42 through the aligned openings andaperture of the containers 14 and metal disc 28, respectively. Becausethe diameter of the aperture 30 of the metal disc 28 is slightly lessthan the outer diameter of the sleeves 44, the metal disc 28 is causedto bend downwardly and into locking engagement with the refractorysleeves 44..The refractory lined rod 42 can be pushed through theassembly 10 until the enlarged sleeve 46 engages the top surface of theupper container 14,.In this position, the containers 14 cannot fall offof the refractory lined rod since the containers 14 are retained inassembled condition by the strapping 26 and movement in that directionis prohibited by the metal disc 28. After molten metal is teemed in theladle the strapping 26 dissolves but the buoyancy of the containerskeeps them from falling off the rod 42. The containers 14 cannot bemoved upward along the refractory lined rod 42 through this buoyancysince enlarged sleeve 46 prevents such movement. The ladle assembly 10is, therefore, retained below the surface of the molten metal anddissolution of the components of the ladle assembly takes place toassure a high and predictable recoveryrate for the alloying additionsbeing made. 4

As a practical matter, a small gap A often exists between the containers14 and the refractory sleeves 44, FIG. 7. This gap A can result bydesign as a built in safetyfactor to assure a proper fit or can occurthrough normal tolerance variation of the respective componentsemployed. If gap A becomes too large, the bent portion of the metal discmay tend to reverse bend into the gap resulting in slippage of the ladleassembly 10. This slippage can be eliminated by using a second disc 50positioned atop of the locking'disc 52, FIGS. 6 and 7.

Disc 50 has a central aperture 54 slightly larger in diameter'than thecentral aperture 56 of the locking disc 52. The aperture l 54 is alsopreferably dimensioned with respect to the elongated openings58 so thatthe aperture 54 is intermediate of the axial extent of the elongatedopenings 58 in the assembled position. The reason for this is thatthedisc 52 starts to bend downwardlythroughout the axial extent of theportion between the slots 58 and the disc 50 assists in limiting thebending to the portion immediately adjacent the refractory sleeves 44.Discs 50 and 52 include depending lips 60 and 62, respectively whichengage adjacent containers 14 to assume proper positioning and alignmentof the respective apertures 54. and 56. In operation, disc 50fills asubstantial portion of the gap A to preventthe locking disc 50 fromreverse bending, thereby eliminating any slippage of the assembly. 10.

I claim:

l. A ladle addition assembly suitable for installation ona'refra'ctoryline d rod extending substantially vertically in a ladlecomprising:

A. a plurality of stacked container means each having an aligned centralopening forpositioning on the rod;

B. apertured locking plate means positioned adjacent at least onecontainer means, said aperture in registry with the aligned centralopening, said plate means slidably accommodating relative movement withthe refractory lined rod in a first direction and lockably engaging therod to prevent relative movement in an opposite direction; and

C. securement means cooperating with the container means and plate meansto maintain the container means and plate means in assembledrelationship.

2. The assembly of claim 1 including a stop means positioned on thelined rod above the stacked container means to prevent movement of thestacked container means in said first direction.

3. The assembly of claim 2, the stop means being a shoulder formed bythe refractory lining on the rod to abut a top surface of the stackedcontainer means.

4. The assembly of claim 1, the plate means comprising a metal dischaving a central aperture and a plurality of spaced slots extendingradially outward from the aperture for a short distance into the metaldisc, said aperture having a diameter slightly less than a diameter ofthe refractory lined rod. 7

5. The assembly of claim 1, the plate means comprising a metal dischaving a central aperture, and a plurality of spaced notches extendingradially outward from the aperture for a short distance into the metaldisc, said aperture having a diameter slightly less than a diameter ofthe refractory lined rod.

6. The assembly of claim 1, the plate means comprising a metal dischaving a central aperture and a plurality of. spaced slits extendingradially outward from the aperture for a short distance into the metaldisc, said aperture having a diameter slightly less than a diameter ofthe refractory lined rod.

7. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the plate means is interleavedbetween adjacent container means.

8. The assembly of claim 1, said plate means including alignment meansdepending perpendicularly from the, plate means periphery to engage thecontainer means and assure the registry of the container means openingand the plate means aperture. i

9. The ladle addition assembly of claim 1 wherein the locking platemeans includes a plurality of elongated openings extending radiallyoutward from the aperture into the metal plate, said assembly includingasecond j apertured plate means positioned'adjacent the locking platemeans to assist in maintaining the lockableengagement with the rod.

10. The ladle addition assembly of claim 9 wherein the aperture of thesecond plate means is located intermediate opposing ends of theelongated openings in the assembled position. I

11. The assembly of claim 8, said alignment means comprising a lip.

12. The assembly of claim 8, said alignment means comprising a pluralityof pins positioned in spaced apart relationship about the plate means.

13. A ladleaddition assembly suitable for installation on a refractorylined rod extending substantially vertically in a ladle comprising: r

A. a plurality of stacked containers each having an aligned centralopeningfor positioning on the rod to form a gap therebetween;

B. a first apertured metal disc interleaved between adjacent containers,said aperture having a diameter slightly less than that of the rod, anda plurality ers and discs to maintain an assembled relationof elongatedopenings extending radially outward ship; and from the aperture into themetal disc; E. stop means positioned on the rod above the con- C. asecond apertured metal disc positioned adjacent tainers to preventmovement thereof in a first dithe first disc, the aperture of the seconddisc direction,

rnensioned so as to be intermediate opposing ends whereby said ladleaddition assembly slidably engages of the elongated openings and toextend within the the rod so that the discs prevent movement of theasgap; sembly in a direction opposite of the first direction. D.securement means cooperating with the contain-

1. A ladle addition assembly suitable for installation on a refractorylined rod extending substantially vertically in a ladle comprising: A. aplurality of stacked container means each having an aligned centralopening for positioning on the rod; B. apertured locking plate meanspositioned adjacent at least one container means, said aperture inregistry with the aligned central opening, said plate means slidablyaccommodating relative movement with the refractory lined rod in a firstdirection and lockably engaging the rod to prevent relative movement inan opposite direction; and C. securement means cooperating with thecontainer means and plate means to maintain the container means andplate means in assembled relationship.
 2. The assembly of claim 1including a stop means positioned on the lined rod above the stackedcontainer means to prevent movement of the stacked container means insaid first direction.
 3. The assembly of claim 2, the stop means being ashoulder formed by the refractory lining on the rod to abut a topsurface of the stacked container means.
 4. The assembly of claim 1, theplate means comprising a metal disc having a central aperture and aplurality of spaced slots extending radially outward from the aperturefor a short distance into the metal disc, said aperture having adiameter slightly less than a diameter of the refractory lined rod. 5.The assembly of claim 1, the plate means comprising a metal disc havinga central aperture, and a plurality of spaced notches extending radiallyoutward from the aperture for a short distance into the metal disc, saidaperture having a diameter slightly less than a diameter of therefraCtory lined rod.
 6. The assembly of claim 1, the plate meanscomprising a metal disc having a central aperture and a plurality ofspaced slits extending radially outward from the aperture for a shortdistance into the metal disc, said aperture having a diameter slightlyless than a diameter of the refractory lined rod.
 7. The assembly ofclaim 1 wherein the plate means is interleaved between adjacentcontainer means.
 8. The assembly of claim 1, said plate means includingalignment means depending perpendicularly from the plate means peripheryto engage the container means and assure the registry of the containermeans opening and the plate means aperture.
 9. The ladle additionassembly of claim 1 wherein the locking plate means includes a pluralityof elongated openings extending radially outward from the aperture intothe metal plate, said assembly including a second apertured plate meanspositioned adjacent the locking plate means to assist in maintaining thelockable engagement with the rod.
 10. The ladle addition assembly ofclaim 9 wherein the aperture of the second plate means is locatedintermediate opposing ends of the elongated openings in the assembledposition.
 11. The assembly of claim 8, said alignment means comprising alip.
 12. The assembly of claim 8, said alignment means comprising aplurality of pins positioned in spaced apart relationship about theplate means.
 13. A ladle addition assembly suitable for installation ona refractory lined rod extending substantially vertically in a ladlecomprising: A. a plurality of stacked containers each having an alignedcentral opening for positioning on the rod to form a gap therebetween;B. a first apertured metal disc interleaved between adjacent containers,said aperture having a diameter slightly less than that of the rod, anda plurality of elongated openings extending radially outward from theaperture into the metal disc; C. a second apertured metal discpositioned adjacent the first disc, the aperture of the second discdimensioned so as to be intermediate opposing ends of the elongatedopenings and to extend within the gap; D. securement means cooperatingwith the containers and discs to maintain an assembled relationship; andE. stop means positioned on the rod above the containers to preventmovement thereof in a first direction, whereby said ladle additionassembly slidably engages the rod so that the discs prevent movement ofthe assembly in a direction opposite of the first direction.